But some items ride a fine line and I recently came to decision-time for two old tables. I decided that if I had time to spruce them up before moving, they could come along. Otherwise they would get the boot. As luck would have it, after a busy week of work and an even busier weekend, my Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty wide open and I decided to paint the tables.
Little did I know what great discoveries lay ahead when I set forth on this project!
My table renovation story is intertwined with getting to know my building superintendent much better and discovering several treasure troves in my basement's building. I already knew this place was special but now I'm pretty sure I'll never live in an apartment building quite as unique as this one.
So here is the tale in photos... I'll tell it through the captions beneath each photo:
The reason this was in the dumpster, bottom shelf was cracked. This was my "I-have-only rudimentary-tools-and-skills" fix.
Protective plastic booties for the wheels.
My super Super said it was OK to do my project down in his workshop. I've admired this workshop for a long time so it was fun to hangout in there. Super has a rubber ducky on his toolbox, a good sign of a fun personality.
This is not a tiny workshop. It's huge and well-stocked!
Super is a man after my own heart. He pulled this chair out of the same dumpster as I pulled the table from. He fixed it up real nice.
(There was already a lot of spray paint in the air when I took this picture.)
He is fixing up this nice little shelf for his son. COVET!
He also supplied me with gloves and a face mask! I told you he was SUPER, all looking out for my health and stuff.
Further evidence of Super's fun-ness. Jokes about seniors taped to wall (he is a senior).
The car he is restoring is a DODGE SHADOW!
He has a bucket of nipples.
He has a bucket of nipples.
OK, getting back to the tables... here they are after being coated in primer. I spray bombed these and one can just barely covered them both.
Also - graffiti artists must have huge forearm muscles!! Mine are still sore two days later!
Now, I already knew that there was a large room in the basement of this building that was completely dedicated to a massive model train set. It was a charming discovery when we first moved in and I bragged about it to everyone. In the course of talking with Super I discovered he had taken it all apart and is selling it off (the stuff originally belonged to a previous, elderly super and the current Super was tired of maintaining it... so if you know anyone who is into model trains...)
He let me in the room to take a last look around.
I was lucky to see it running when we first came here - even for someone not "into" trains it was a magical sight! It is a big room (at least 12ft x 20ft, maybe bigger) and the whole thing was one huge scene with several tracks running around through it. The walls are all blue with clouds painted on them. The sense of one person's pride/love/dedication/madness for it all was palpable.
Now it looks like this. Kinda sad. (It reminded me of Seth's Dominion models.)
The topmost engine had a pricetag left on the box. $300!!! Which made me realize there is a lot of money in this room if the right buyer ever comes along!
Maybe a museum or a hospital? The IWK in Halifax has a train set in it for kids' enjoyment. (It pales in comparison to this set actually...)
This Bedford tower reminded me of Nova Scotia. Hard not to feel nostalgic in a room full of old, unused toys I guess...
Please see Parts 2 and 3 for the conclusion of the table project and other good stuff!!!
.
No comments:
Post a Comment